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On Guard
452 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2025
1 person is currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Denise Stone
12 books1,293 followersImpactful Love Stories
Kels & Denise are authors, best friends, and the definition of the found family trope. The pair bonded over their love for romance and turned all their late-night chats into writing together. Their enjoyment for storytelling morphed into writing impactful love stories.
@authorkelsdenisestone
https://kelsdenisestone.com/kdstone
For exclusive bonus content: www.patreon.com/authorkelsdenisestone
Kels & Denise are authors, best friends, and the definition of the found family trope. The pair bonded over their love for romance and turned all their late-night chats into writing together. Their enjoyment for storytelling morphed into writing impactful love stories.
@authorkelsdenisestone
https://kelsdenisestone.com/kdstone
For exclusive bonus content: www.patreon.com/authorkelsdenisestone
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2025
Hollywood Sweetheart Reese Sinclair is trying to break out of her shell. Aging out of her ingénue roles, she is ready to embrace a grittier side of herself. But breaking out of the stereotype everyone expects her to play and be, is harder than she thought. Especially when nobody seems to think she can reinvent herself and her career... nobody except her workplace enemy stunt coordinator Dante Hastings.
On a year-long suspension from the Olympic fencing team, party boy Dante is "slumming" it in Hollywood as a stunt coordinator. But when his childhood celebrity crush Reese Sinclair is signed onto the same movie his year of exhile is given a whole new purpose: show her that she needs a little bit of bad boy in her life and career. Will he be able to win her over? Or is his past too much for both of them to overcome?
Rep: Dyslexia, PTSD, queer rep (bisexual)
What to Expect: Opposites Attract, Good Girl x Bad Boy, Forced Proximity, He Falls First, Sports (Fencing) Romance, She Was His Childhood Celebrity Crush, Dirty Talk in a Foreign Language, banter, Emotional Haircutting (not breakup related).
TW/CW: in the past, brush with the law, hounded by paparazzi, lack of privacy due to fame, ageism (in film business), queer outting (discussed), childhood near drowning (discussed).
Rating 4.5/5 stars (rounded to 5) the book was fantastic but Reeses struggle to be seen as more when aging out of Hollywood felt a little "given" which is why my rating was slightly dinged.
Steam 3/5
Thank you to Kels & Denise Stone and Valentine PR for an advanced copy to review.
On a year-long suspension from the Olympic fencing team, party boy Dante is "slumming" it in Hollywood as a stunt coordinator. But when his childhood celebrity crush Reese Sinclair is signed onto the same movie his year of exhile is given a whole new purpose: show her that she needs a little bit of bad boy in her life and career. Will he be able to win her over? Or is his past too much for both of them to overcome?
Rep: Dyslexia, PTSD, queer rep (bisexual)
What to Expect: Opposites Attract, Good Girl x Bad Boy, Forced Proximity, He Falls First, Sports (Fencing) Romance, She Was His Childhood Celebrity Crush, Dirty Talk in a Foreign Language, banter, Emotional Haircutting (not breakup related).
TW/CW: in the past, brush with the law, hounded by paparazzi, lack of privacy due to fame, ageism (in film business), queer outting (discussed), childhood near drowning (discussed).
Rating 4.5/5 stars (rounded to 5) the book was fantastic but Reeses struggle to be seen as more when aging out of Hollywood felt a little "given" which is why my rating was slightly dinged.
Steam 3/5
Thank you to Kels & Denise Stone and Valentine PR for an advanced copy to review.
April 9, 2025
ARC REVIEW! 🤺🎥
ok everyone knows i’m a huge kels & denise stone fan and i LOVEEEE being on their arc team but ill have everyone know i was so nervous to read a fencing romance. i did not care about fencing, i knew nothing about fencing and quite frankly it did not interest me at all as a sport but i LOVE a sports romance and the friar of the hastings series was so cute i put everything aside and went in w no expectations….
and god did it blow it out of the park!!!!!!!! this might be my new fav kels & denise stone book by a long shot…idk how they do it but they just keep getting better.
oh how i loved reese 🥹🥹🥹 i genuinely think i connected to her more than i have with any character and her ark was so important with or without her romance to dante.
i am so excited for the next one 😁😁
ok everyone knows i’m a huge kels & denise stone fan and i LOVEEEE being on their arc team but ill have everyone know i was so nervous to read a fencing romance. i did not care about fencing, i knew nothing about fencing and quite frankly it did not interest me at all as a sport but i LOVE a sports romance and the friar of the hastings series was so cute i put everything aside and went in w no expectations….
and god did it blow it out of the park!!!!!!!! this might be my new fav kels & denise stone book by a long shot…idk how they do it but they just keep getting better.
oh how i loved reese 🥹🥹🥹 i genuinely think i connected to her more than i have with any character and her ark was so important with or without her romance to dante.
i am so excited for the next one 😁😁
April 11, 2025
On Guard is my first novel from this writing duo, and I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging and heartfelt it was. The storyline is refreshingly original, and the characters are thoughtfully developed, each grappling with questions of identity and purpose.
Reese and Dante were a standout pair. Their chemistry is electric, but it’s the emotional depth of their relationship that truly shines. They serve as each other’s source of strength, and their dynamic feels both authentic and deeply rooted in mutual respect. Reese is confident and driven, while Dante’s unwavering support of her adds genuine warmth to their romance.
The third-act conflict was handled so well—it felt real and necessary, not just thrown in for drama. And the ending? It brought everything together in such a satisfying way. I closed the book feeling like the journey was totally worth it.
Reese and Dante were a standout pair. Their chemistry is electric, but it’s the emotional depth of their relationship that truly shines. They serve as each other’s source of strength, and their dynamic feels both authentic and deeply rooted in mutual respect. Reese is confident and driven, while Dante’s unwavering support of her adds genuine warmth to their romance.
The third-act conflict was handled so well—it felt real and necessary, not just thrown in for drama. And the ending? It brought everything together in such a satisfying way. I closed the book feeling like the journey was totally worth it.
December 6, 2025
Sports romance
Bad boy x good girl
He’s obsessed
Dual narration - Savannah Peachwood & Teddy Hamilton
Need I saw more? These two are phenomenal! The only thing that could have made the narration any better would have been duet style.
Reese is Americas sweetheart actress but she’s almost 30 and wanting to branch out on her career. Looking for a new more edgy project to work on. She gets a roll she is very excited and dedicated to play.
Dante is the bad boy of fencing. He is dealing with a suspension and gets an offer to work on a new action film. Finding out Reese is the leading lady was a major plus for him.
I loved the banter between these two and the development of their friendship into more. Dante was there for her and helped her rediscover herself. Supporting her to be her true self.
Truly a great book.
Bad boy x good girl
He’s obsessed
Dual narration - Savannah Peachwood & Teddy Hamilton
Need I saw more? These two are phenomenal! The only thing that could have made the narration any better would have been duet style.
Reese is Americas sweetheart actress but she’s almost 30 and wanting to branch out on her career. Looking for a new more edgy project to work on. She gets a roll she is very excited and dedicated to play.
Dante is the bad boy of fencing. He is dealing with a suspension and gets an offer to work on a new action film. Finding out Reese is the leading lady was a major plus for him.
I loved the banter between these two and the development of their friendship into more. Dante was there for her and helped her rediscover herself. Supporting her to be her true self.
Truly a great book.
April 22, 2025
I was hesitant about a fencing romance but boy it did not disappoint! I was graciously chosen to read this as an ARC through Valentine PR. This was a great sports romance that kept me interested and I will definitely check out more of the Hastings series and Denise Stone novels.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews